Toward Reaction-by-Design: Achieving Kinetic Control of Solid State Chemistry with Metathesis

The control of solid state reaction pathways will enable the design and discovery of new functional inorganic materials. A range of synthetic approaches have been used to shift solid state chemistry away from thermodynamic control, in which the most energetically favorable product forms, toward a regime of kinetic control, so that metastable materials can be controllably produced. In this Perspective, we focus on the kinetic control of solid state metathesis reactions to alter solid state reaction pathways and products. We provide insight into the necessary components of a kinetically controlled solid state reaction and illustrate the utility of studying reactions in situ in order to observe the various intermediates and kinetic pathways that may extend synthetic solid state chemistry toward a paradigm of reaction-by-design.